So you have decided you’re going to have friends or family over for brunch, and now the panic is starting to set in. What will you make? What will you wear? If you’re anything like me, after a few hours of browsing through Pinterest you’re still not sure which french toast casserole will be the best and whether to make an egg casserole, quiche, or something else all together.

What to Make 

When it comes to having people over for brunch, I’ve become a bit of an expert over the past few years. After trying countless recipes, I’ve narrowed the perfect menu down to three things: a french toast casserole, an egg dish, & a unique/signature item. The key to all three of these things is all of the hard work (and mess) can be done at least the day before if not earlier and so, on the day of your brunch you can focus on your outfit, not making your kitchen presentable after cooking for 5 hours. They can also easily be scaled up or down so you are covered whether you are making brunch for 10 friends or 50. Below you’ll find my favorite recipes. Many of which will look familiar if you read last week’s post How To: Throw a St. Patrick’s Day Parade Party.

French Toast Casserole

The recipe I use for french toast casserole I stole from my cousin. She made it a couple of times for family parties and so when I was looking for a french toast casserole recipe for a brunch I held a few years ago, I asked her if she could send it to me. My favorite part about this recipe is how the bottom becomes essentially like a sticky bun. When I make it for a brunch I like to use a half size foil catering pan (use a full size pan if you double the recipe).

My Favorite Egg Dish: Potatoes, Eggs, & Sausage

Potatoes, eggs, & sausage has been our family’s go to dish for brunches for my whole life. It’s incredibly simple and super delicious. It is also great because it can so easily be scaled up and down. If you’re making it for a crowd, you can make up the potatoes and sausage the night before so you just have to reheat them and cook the eggs that day. If your brunch is a buffet, I highly recommend putting it in your slow cooker on warm or catering stands to keep it warm throughout the morning.

My Signature Item: Breakfast Meatballs

I first made breakfast meatballs a little over two years ago for a holiday brunch with my friends. They instantly became a favorite of everyone. Now whenever I have people over for brunch, one of the first questions they ask is whether or not I’ll be making breakfast meatballs. Other than being super delicious, the best part about breakfast meatballs is that you can make them up in advance and freeze them. They are also a great item to serve from a crock pot for a buffet brunch, just make sure you heat the meatballs all the way through if they were frozen first. As much as I wish I could take credit for this recipe, we have the Budget Gourmet Mom to thank for this one. You can find the recipe here.

What to Wear

Now that you have stopped worrying about what to make, you can focus on what to wear. You really have to base your look on the type of brunch, whether super casual or more formal. I would say the key to most brunches with friends or family is to look nice without looking too overdone. I have for you here my go to look for a casual brunch with friends. Personally, I would go with my new Lauren Conrad floral blouse I picked up from Kohl’s clearance rack. It came to about $10 with my coupon, such a steal.

Here, I paired it with my black skinny jeans. My black leather boots were the most obvious choice considering there was still so much snow on the ground.

How cute is this bow detail on the front? With a higher neckline and details like that, I skip the necklace and stick with earrings. I wore my 360 pearl earrings. The blouse has a little key hole back with a faux pearl button and similar details on both sleeves. Little things like that are why I really love the clothing Lauren Conrad designs. I also wore my silver watch and my typical everyday silver rings. This look was so easy and super comfy for a few hours of catching up with friends over brunch.

This is definitely a look I’ll be wearing more this spring. I’ll probably switch to flats and blue jeans or white pants whenever weather decides to finally warm up!